


You Don't Have to Pick a Side

by Mun Kiri (NekoAisu)



Series: Asks [5]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Sexuality, Short & Sweet, Sibling Bonding, gladio is a good brother
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-28
Updated: 2018-08-28
Packaged: 2019-07-03 14:20:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 802
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15820629
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NekoAisu/pseuds/Mun%20Kiri
Summary: For the ask:gladio talking to iris abt ~sexuality~ shit and abt how it doesn't matter if yr undecided because you don't really Have to Decide





	You Don't Have to Pick a Side

**Author's Note:**

> Cross posted from my blog @ lgbt-ffxv-imagines on tumblr!

It’s a talk he’d been planning on having with her for years. It’s not a super easy thing to do, though, when your little sister is definitely more interested in kicking ass and taking names than she is in possible romantic relationships. He’s already bracing for the initial (and sometimes prolonged) disgust that kids all seem to exhibit when talking about romance and sexuality when he opens his mouth to start talking. It never comes.

The Amicitia manor has always been homely, even with its raucous gilding on all the woodwork, and Gladio allows himself to sink heavily into the couch. Iris blinks at him, expectant, and shrugs. 

“Okay. I had some questions, anyways,” she admits, unabashed, “so it’s actually really good to know I can talk to you about it, Gladdy!”

Gladio isn’t quite sure what to do. He’d planned on having to get past the discomfort that came with anything taboo, but Iris was already staring at him and smiling like it would somehow spirit him into speaking. He exhales slowly. 

“You’re calmer about this than I thought you would be,” he starts. “It’s good, actually. ‘M not exactly good with beating around the bush.”

“You’re doing a fine job of it, now,” she jokes, drumming her fingers on her knees. 

Iris reminds Gladio of himself. Not just in the whole “sibling resemblance” sort of way, but also in how he looks at people and acts around them. There’s that almost wary pattern of how she glances at girls in her class and obsesses over boys like they’re the only thing she has space for in her head. All the crushes are fleeting, a sort of infatuation that strikes for maybe a month before fading.

Gladio knows he’s pretty close to Iris, but he also knows that she has her own business that he’s not privy to. He hadn’t spilled his guts to anyone in full at that age, even if doing so would have saved him a lot of self hatred and answered just about all of his questions. He hopes that having a talk will help save Iris the trouble. 

“So, there’s a lot of stuff I was going to go over, but if you’re already looking into this stuff on your own, let’s just start with your questions,” he says. He makes sure his body language is open and welcoming, not wanting to send mixed signals and scare his little sister away when he needs someone to talk to. “If you aren’t sure how to verbalize them, that’s okay, ‘Ris. You can take your time, or ask me about it another day. I’ll always be here for you, y’know?”

He’s trying his best to make her comfortable, but she just stares at him before laughing. His face twists up into something akin to confusion because  _what the hell, Iris. Don’t laugh at me like that when I’m trying me best._

She just keeps laughing, making attempts at calming herself down before asking between breaths, “I  _really_ needed to hear that. Sorry for laughing, big bro, but it’s just a huge weight off? I don’t know what to call myself, or what I am in terms of sexuality. I don’t even know how’d I’d handle gender right now with how confusing it is to realize that  _oh wow I really like girls, too_.”

“You don’t have to figure it out, now.” Gladio gives a sheepish sort of smile. “Hell, you don’t have to figure it out  _ever,_ Iris,” he amends. “You’ll always be my little sibling, whether sister, or otherwise. Doesn’t matter if you bounce between labels, or never want to use them. Nobody else can tell you who to be.”

“But what if I want a label?” Iris picks at her skirt, nervous even if it does’t show in her voice. “Is it okay to pick one now and change it later, if it doesn’t fit?”

Gladio shrugs in a mirror of her earlier action. “You do whatever makes you happy. Whether that’s never picking one, using multiple, or swapping them as you puzzle yourself out, there are all okay. You don’t have to just decide on one thing and stick to it, ‘Ris.”

He doesn’t see it coming until she’s already launching herself across the coffee table at him, arms locked tight around his chest as she cries. It’s not a messy affair with snot and tears everywhere, but it’s just as important as any other major cry. It’s a weight off her shoulders he hadn’t even known was weighing that heavily on her until now. 

“Thank you, Gladdy. I love you so much. You’re the  _best_ ,” she whispers into his neck, still gripping at him a little too tightly to be comfortable. 

“Love you too, Iris. You’re one hell of a little sister, y’know that?”

**Author's Note:**

> Yell at/with me on:  
> Tumblr: Kiriami-sama  
> Twitter: FlamingAceKiri


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